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APRIL 2022 5 Woods' 40-yard dash time of 4.61 at the NFL Combine in early March was the fastest clocked by a tight end of his height (6-foot-7) since 2003. (Photo courtesy UVA: AP Photo/Darron Cummings) behind the scenes NFL Focus Turns To UVA Tight End Jelani Woods After Combine cavalier sports I t took just a minute for ACC Network football analyst and former Flor- ida State quarterback E.J. Manuel to take notice of Jelani Woods. At- tending a fall practice, Manuel had just arrived on the Cavaliers' practice field when Woods, a tight end transfer from Oklahoma State, reached up high, grabbed a pass over the middle of the field and muscled his way past several defenders. "Who is that?" Manuel said out loud. Manuel, ACC opponents and NFL scouts all knew who Woods was while he prepared for the 2022 NFL Draft April 28–30. His decision to join the UVA program last fall and develop as a top-flight pass-catching threat has made for quite a story. Coming out of Cedar Grove High School just southeast of Atlanta, Woods was a 6-foot-7 quarterback who had led his school to its first state title in 2016. He enrolled at Oklahoma State where he transitioned to tight end and played in 34 games (starting 28) for the Cowboys, catching 31 passes for 361 yards and four touchdowns. Looking for a program where he could develop as a receiver, Woods enrolled at UVA as a graduate student last year and went on to have an All-ACC season. He caught 44 passes, averaging 13.6 yards per recep- tion and finished second on the team with eight scoring catches. "I didn't want to be categorized as just an in-line blocker," Woods said. "The scheme at Oklahoma State only gave us a limited opportunity to show what we could do, and I knew I could do more." Woods' production, coupled with his intimidating size — he weighed 272 pounds when he arrived on Grounds — drew the attention of pro- fessional scouts during the season. He was impressive in the week of practices leading up to the East- West Shrine Game and capped the week by catching three passes and scoring on an eight-yard toss. After announcing his decision to turn pro, Woods' focus shifted to pre- paring for the NFL Combine March 1–7 and the NFL Draft in late April. He moved to California to train under Dave Spitz at California Strength, which puts clients through a process geared specifically for their NFL Combine experience, including numerous individual interviews and a thorough medical examination process. Woods was impressive at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. He did 24 reps on the bench press, the most among the tight ends in attendance, then drew a ton of attention by clocking a time of 4.61 seconds in the 40-yard dash — the fastest run by a tight end of Woods' height since 2003. "I knew I was going to run really well. I knew I was going to lift well," Woods said. "I think one of the biggest factors was that teams wanted to see what I was going to run. I pretty much knocked that out of the park." Aside from proving himself healthy, Woods said he did not focus on one particular area in his draft preparation. "As soon as I declared for the draft, that was the eye-opening mo- ment," he said. "That's when I knew I had to get to work. All of the as- pects of the work — the training, everything I needed to do — came into focus." As a result, he's now the focus of a lot of pre-draft attention. — Jim Daves